The Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act

The Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act

OUR POSITION: CSS opposes the bill and urges members of Congress to vote against it.

The Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act, also known as “Sue and Settle,” would empower the opponents of new safeguards and standards to perpetuate unlawful agency inaction.

Even though Congress sets deadlines for agencies to complete new rules and establish new public safeguards, agencies often fail to meet these legally binding deadlines. When an agency misses a deadline, often the only available recourse is to obtain a court order forcing the agency to take action.

Despite claims to the contrary, court-ordered settlements and decrees have no bearing on the substance of agency rules. But settlements and decrees are necessary to ensure that our laws are enforced in a timely manner.

This bill would create a gauntlet of duplicative, burdensome and time-consuming hurdles that apply to settlements and decrees — slowing down the rulemaking process and preventing federal law from being implemented.